Weaker sanctions against Russia are experienced as a precondition for maintaining the agreement between EU states.
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The 21st package extends restrictions on banks, crypto platforms, the shadow fleet, and the Russian military industry, but temporarily suspends the automatic adjustment of the price cap for oil and leaves some measures for later decisions. Experts consulted by Carnegie Europe mostly believe that adopting a compromise is preferable to a deadlock, although they question the effectiveness and strategic coherence of the sanctions.
The European Union adopted a new sanctions package against Russia after weeks of negotiations, extending restrictions on the financial sector, crypto platforms, the fleet used for Russian transport, and companies providing technologies to the military industry. The final form maintains economic pressure on Moscow but modifies some previously discussed elements and postpones the full implementation of certain instruments.
In short
1. The Council adopted the 21st sanctions package against Russia on July 23, 2026, including 48 individuals and 170 entities on the European restrictive measures lists.
2. Trading bans have been extended to 33 Russian financial institutions, four banks outside the EU, and 14 crypto service platforms established in third countries.
3. Another 41 ships from Russia's shadow fleet have been banned from accessing EU ports, and restrictions have been extended on activities supporting the operation of these ships.
4. The automatic adjustment of the price cap mechanism for Russian oil has been suspended until July 15, 2027, without eliminating the existing cap.
5. Experts gathered by Carnegie Europe mostly believe that a compromise-based package is preferable to a lack of agreement, but they differ regarding the economic effects and the political signal sent by concessions among member states.
The Council of the European Union adopted the 21st package of restrictive measures against Russia on July 23. The package includes 218 new entries on the lists, of which 48 individuals and 170 entities, representing the largest group of individual sanctions adopted by the EU in the last four years.
The measures target the financial, energy, and military-industrial sectors, as well as networks used to evade existing restrictions. The Union has extended the trading ban to 33 credit and financial institutions from Russia and to four banks established in countries outside the EU. One of these is connected to the Russian financial messaging system SPFS, and the others have been included on the grounds that they contributed to evading sanctions.
The ban also covers 14 crypto service platforms established in third countries. The package separately creates the possibility of banning transactions with crypto service providers used by Russia to evade restrictive measures. The implementation of such additional bans will require the inclusion of the targeted providers in the relevant European acts.
In the energy sector, the Council added 41 ships to the shadow fleet list. The listed ships cannot enter EU ports and cannot receive certain European maritime services. The measures also include restrictions related to activities through which other ships or companies supply, fuel, or support the transport carried out by the sanctioned fleet.
The package also introduces the possibility of banning transactions with refineries included on the lists, located in Russia or in countries outside the EU. The sale of ships for transporting liquefied natural gas is subject to a notification obligation, and the adopted framework allows for the introduction of additional restrictions on sales to individuals and companies in Russia. These possibilities do not equate to a general ban applicable immediately to all refineries or all sales of ships for LNG.
The Council has suspended until July 15, 2027, the automatic adjustment of the mechanism for capping the price of Russian oil. The suspension concerns the automatic procedure by which the cap would be recalculated based on market prices and does not eliminate the existing cap or the possibility for member states to adopt other changes in the meantime.
The mechanism had already been modified in July 2026, before the adoption of the entire package, to postpone the calculation and publication of a new reference price. The rules adopted then stipulated that the existing cap continues to apply until the recalculated value comes into force. The decision within the 21st package extends the suspension of the automatic mechanism until July 2027.
The package also establishes the legal basis for a potential entry ban into the EU for individuals who fight or have fought in the Russian armed forces. The creation of this legal basis does not mean that all former or current Russian military personnel are automatically subject to a general ban. Targeted individuals must be identified through subsequent decisions adopted within the sanctions regime.
Trade restrictions are complemented by stricter controls on the export of dual-use goods and technologies. Another 51 entities have been included in the category of companies subject to these restrictions, including entities established in countries outside Russia. The measure also targets the routes through which components or technologies produced in other states can reach the Russian military industry.
The analysis published by Carnegie Europe after the adoption of the package brings together the opinions of six researchers and specialists in sanctions, foreign policy, and security. The text is an analytical material, and the opinions belong to the contributors and do not represent an institutional position of the organization.
Most of the consulted contributors believe that adopting diminished sanctions through compromise is preferable to a lack of agreement. However, they do not formulate a common conclusion on the economic effectiveness of the package or on the political effect of the concessions made during the negotiations.
Diamond-Brown Senior Fellow for economic sanctions, standards, and strategy at the International Institute for Strategic Studies Maria Shagina states that additional measures are preferable to the absence of any new sanctions but warns that the number of packages cannot be confused with their effectiveness. In her assessment, the repetition of negotiation rounds reflects the EU's difficulty in agreeing on tougher measures, which would impose additional costs on European economies.
Shagina believes that the Western sanctions policy is affected by the absence of a clear strategic outcome towards which the measures should be calibrated. She argues that such a goal would have allowed for the faster adoption of broader and better-targeted restrictions towards the vulnerabilities of the Russian economy.
Director for international advocacy at the Anti-Corruption Foundation Alexander Pomazuev interprets the compromise as one of the consequences of the necessary procedures for aligning the positions of member states. In his opinion, these procedures slow down the process and produce concessions, but allow the EU to maintain a more consistent and systematic policy. He considers the adoption of the 21st package as evidence of the political will to continue the restrictions.
Assistant professor at the Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies at the European University Institute Veronica Anghel states that successive negotiations on sanctions have strengthened European mechanisms for monitoring, enforcement, and mutual control among member states. She believes that the restrictions have also become a component of the broader process of European integration, not exclusively a reactionary tool to Russia's actions.
Director of the European Values Center for Security Policy Jakub Janda argues that any additional sanctions against Russia are justified, but believes that member states avoid measures that he considers the strongest. He mentions the seizure of frozen Russian assets, the physical blocking of ships from the shadow fleet in the Baltic Sea, and progressive sanctions against China. These are the author's proposals and not measures adopted through the 21st package.
Professor at the Polish Academy of Sciences and part-time professor at the European University Institute Monika Sus states that the derogations and concessions obtained in negotiations reduce the effect of the measures. However, she believes that maintaining unity and adopting a new package sends a stronger political signal than a complete blockage of common action. Sus warns that internal economic pressures and electoral cycles may make it more difficult to maintain European consensus.
Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute Ulrich Speck expresses a more critical position on the political signal. In his opinion, the image of disagreement among member states may weigh more than the damage done to Russian interests. He adds that a complete halt to new packages would send an even stronger signal to Moscow of a weakening of European will.
Visiting Scholar at Carnegie Europe Kadri Liik describes the sanctions as a balance between reducing Russia's capacity to continue the war and maintaining bearable costs for European economies and societies. She argues that the EU should focus on areas where it has high influence and relatively low economic exposure.
The opinions gathered by Carnegie Europe do not demonstrate the economic effects of the package and do not allow for establishing a direct relationship between the number of sanctions and the reduction of Russia's capacity to finance the war. They show the differences between experts' assessments regarding the compromise necessary for the unanimous adoption of European sanctions.
The EU has been applying economic sanctions against Russia since 2014 and has substantially expanded them after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. The 21st package was adopted three months after the 20th package in April 2026 and continues to extend restrictions on energy, the financial sector, crypto assets, maritime transport, and the military industry. European measures are temporary, are reviewed periodically, and can be extended, modified, or removed through new decisions of the Council.
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